San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1887-03-03

lending and hiring out OF children Is a
distinct branch of business, and an
everyday transaction among the
wretched deniZens of the City sums"
"And the child-Greta-has anything
been heard of her2" asked the baronet
irrelevantly. Dick glanced curiously at
him. Surely it was singular he should
have caught the name so precisely, and
dwelt upon the matter as though it
were one in which he was personally
concerned.
mot up to the time of the woman's
death, yesterday morning." returned
the doctor; land the police say it is i'm
probable they will come across her now.
She will probably pick up as they
term it, with some other itinerant mu-
sician-haying already served her APP
premiership, seemingly, to the profess
si0n-the happy p0ssessOr of dancing
monkey, or Punch and Judy show,
and is possibly miles away from the
town ere this, journeying towards some
country fair. The woman professed,
strangely enough, to be bound for VIM
bledon, via Barnes Common, and spoke
quite Familiarity of various hating
places in that locality. She probably
belonged to this part of the country,
therefore, and, for ought we can tell to
the contrary, overtaXed her strength
putting on a final squirt in hopes of
reaching home in time to eat her
Christmas dinner not twenty miles
from our own door"
''She-she was a common woman, /
supposep You are sure of thatp" the
baronet questioned strangely, prefacing
the remark with short rasping laugh;
'and her name-we might make enqui-
ries, you know. Did her name happen
to transpire?"
Eyes and no, singularly enough. For
she gave her name simply as 'Margot,'
and declared she had 'niver lad no 9TH
er as she'd ever heerd tell onl' was it
Dicks fancy, or did the baronet heave
low unconscious sigh of infinite re-
iefp-"'or if she had'-we made her
admit at last-'it was SO long sim her
christening that t'other 'aarf had slip
ped her mim'ry,' and to this statement
she dOggedly adhered to the end. Oh,
she was common enough, poor wretch;
no doubt on that point. She was igno-
rant of her own age, and hardly under
stood signing some necessary document
with her mark. However, peace to
her names. Bah! it makes me shudder
at this moment to recall the poor crea-
lures final agonies. Let us talk of
something else"
Dicks gaze meanwhile was mesmer-
ically riveted upon the baronet's sour
visage. Had it been endowed with the
basilisk's fatal power, it could not have
exercised more singular fascination;
and now the young fellow no longer
estioned-dOubted-h was sure that
an expression of relief fitted palpably
across the old mans stolid features as
the doctor ceased.
Dick could never after satisfactorily
account, even to himself, for the
strange impulse which had prompted
him to remain silent during this brief
cOlloquy, and now further to withhold
the circumstance of his own strange
rencontre upon the night in question,
with the child, whose description so ex-
actly answered to that Of Margot's
whilom companion, that no shadow of
doubt could remain in Dicks mind as
to the identity of his small protegee.
Was it, perhaps, because of boyish
reluctance to confess to having played
the role of philanthropist, and inter-
fered to rescue Greta from the scant
hospitality of the casual ward or near
est police stationp Or, perhaps, be-
cause he had fancy TO reserve to him
self the right Of dealing as to him
seemed best with this orphaned stray
whom Providence had led to his very
door. At any rate, he held his peace,
feeling meanwhile singularly criminal,
however, as though he had been guilty
of some misdemeanOr against the law
petty larceny at the very least.
1t was a singular relief to him when
dinner was announced, and shortly af-
ter the young man withdrew, leaving
the old cronies to the discussion of a
capital bottle of fine crusted port;
whilst Dick himself sailed forth, skates
in hand. to join the merry-makers on
the frozen lake, scarcely mile to the
right of the Bleak House demesne.